New Avengers #21Review

Saying that there is a lot going on in Hickman’s Avengers books right now is a huge understatement, but it’s also certainly true. That said, the emotional weight of New Avengers #21 completely blows everything else out of the water. The Illuminati have been unabashedly brandishing a world-killing bomb for many issues now, but that all comes to a head with this latest issue. The results are gut-wrenchingly hard to read, and both surprising and unsurprising when all is said and done making this a must read issue and one of Hickman’s best so far.

Ever since the original Illuminati were revealed there was something about them that made them seem less heroic in the classical sense and much more menacing. The Illuminati have always been a group not ready to be heroes, but to do what was necessary. Hickman has been forcing the new incarnation of the Illuminati to their absolute extremes with the concept of incursions, but even more so with the supposed solution of said incursions. This issue, appropriately titled “The Bomb,” examines what separates the Illuminati from your average superhero and answers the question of where they will ultimately draw the line at doing what’s “necessary.” The final confrontation between the Avengers and The Great Society is absolutely brutal, but the choices our heroes must make afterward is even harder to witness.

Valerio Schiti and Salvador Larroca handle the artistic aspects of this issue and while both have a style that is befitting of the story, it’s easy to spot when one artist takes over for another. It’s a bit distracting, but because both styles work in it of themselves it’s easy to forgive.

Mike Logsdon is a master of Kung Fu and of reading comics. Find out which one of those things is actually true by following him on Twitter and IGN!

Amazing

New Avengers #21 is one of Hickman's best so far with an undeniably gut-wrenching challenge for our heroes.